Derrick Rose is not the first great, explosive guard to have his ACL go in an ugly fashion.

Tim Hardaway — another guard with a legendary crossover that dazzled fans — missed the 1993-94 with the same injury (during the Run TMC era in Golden State). And it took a bit after his return for his game to fully return, but he had two All-Star seasons and was fourth in the MVP voting one year and sixth another after his injury.

Hardaway says this injury could end up benefiting Rose if the young guard takes advantage of the down time that extends into next season (whispers out of Chicago are saying a March return and they are trying not to rush him back).

‘‘He can only do three things,’’ said former NBA point guard Tim Hardaway, who missed the 1993-94 season after suffering a similar injury. ‘‘He can dribble — not run and dribble, just dribble walking up and down the court; he can shoot a bunch of free throws; and he can shoot a bunch of set shots like he’s playing H-O-R-S-E every day, all day.

‘‘But that’s going to make him better. If you shoot 1,000 jump shots a day, 1,000 free throws a day, you’re going to get better. That made my shot better. It really made my jump shot and free-throw percentage better.’’

Hardaway’s eFG% (which includes a boost for made threes) improved .20 points the season after his return from the injury, although it never really jumped much after that. But his game also shifted a little, he still drove but he didn’t hesitate to shoot jumpers. And his all around game matured by the time he was in Miami to something pretty impressive.

Rose could be better than Hardaway, and maybe he can come back from this injury with a more rounded game than he had before. And that will be good for the Bulls. Well, it will be good for the Bulls once they rebuild the team in 2014 anyway.

It was just four years ago that Tim Hardaway created a firestorm when he said in a radio interview he hated gay people. It was stunning for a guy who played and was idolized in San Francisco. It was something he ended up backtracking from after a wave of criticism and talks with friends.

Tim Hardaway is a changed man.

So much so that the former University of Texas at El Paso star was back in El Paso trying to support some city officials who voted to allow health benefits to gay partners of city employees.

In town for a golf outing, Hardaway attended a press conference urging citizens to oppose recall efforts against Mayor John Cook and city Reps. Susie Byrd and Steve Ortega. The three are being recalled by a group of religious conservatives who are angry the three voted to restore health benefits for gay and unmarried partners of city employees — despite a ballot initiative in November that had abolished them….

“I opened my eyes and went to counseling,” he said Thursday….

Hardaway said that what made his earlier statements especially shameful is that, as a black man, he should understand discrimination. And so should El Paso, as it has in the past, he said.

Good for Hardaway. I’m not going to get into El Paso politics here, but I will make one comment. Is it the Christian thing to do to work to deny health benefits to someone? Is that really what Jesus would have done? Not the guy in the book I read.

With Chris Mullin going into the Hall of Fame, the golden era of the Golden State Warriors has been a hot topic. For me, that will always be Run TMC. One of my favorite teams ever to watch.

Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin, in a “system” designed by Don Nelson. A system that often was no system — let really good players do their thing and stay out of the way. They were as entertaining a basketball team as has ever played. Not the best, but the most fun to watch.

NBA TV is doing a special on them and released this snippet of the interview (via SLAM). This should whet your appetite for the program (coming in October).

Mullin suggests retiring all three jersey numbers at the same time — Run TMC lifted into the rafters at Oracle Arena in one unifying, thunderous moment?

“I would like that,” Mullin said this week. “I think the fans would like it, too. … To me, it doesn’t always have to be about one person. I know I’d feel more comfortable. That would feel natural to me.

Richmond and Hardaway were not as iconic members of the Warriors as Mullin (who went on to be the team’s GM after his playing days). But there would be something special, something celebratory of a great time in Warriors history if all three did go up together.

One of my theories in life is it’s good to know rich people. Because sometimes they can help you out when things seem pretty hopeless.

Like if you owed the IRS $120,000 to the Internal Revenue Service and weren’t sure how to pay it. That’s the spot former NBA and Miami Heat star Tim Hardaway found himself in, but he knew the rich people that own the Heat. We’ll let the Detroit News explain what happened.

Hardaway, 44, ran into tax trouble in June despite being paid more than $46.6 million during his NBA career. The IRS filed a tax lien against his property and the bill listed his 7,542-square-foot mansion in suburban Miami

On Sept. 3, three months after the lien was filed, Hardaway sold the mansion to Miami Heat Limited Partnership, which owns the Miami Heat….

The Heat paid $1.985 million, according to public records. Today, the Heat is trying to sell the five-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath estate, which comes with a pool and private basketball court decorated with a Miami Heat logo, for $2.5 million.

Hardaway would not say why the Heat purchased the home. Meanwhile, Hardaway still lives in the house while they try to find a buyer.

I have no idea what Hardaway’s financial situation is, but if he is hurting for cash he would be far from the first pro athlete to make unseemly amounts of bank then be hurting financially within a decade. It happens more often than you think.

Hopefully that’s not Hardaway, he said he was good financially despite the tax lien. He works as a radio color commentator for a network that broadcasts Big 10 college games.